This photo shows the state Capitol in Albany. Though leaders insist New York has a tough law on sexual harassment, allegations that roiled a 20-employee office in Glens Falls underscore a familiar criticism: Aggressive policies aren't of much use if managers don't take action. (Hans Pennink / AP)

He thought of it as a locker room. To his female co-workers, it was more like hell.

A small office in Glens Falls of a New York state agency that helps the disabled was a haven of harassment thanks to a creep who made life miserable — and supervisors who let him get away with with it — women who worked in the office say.

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One woman said the man grabbed her head and forced it between his legs. Another woman says he exposed his penis to her while she worked in her cubicle. A third says the cretin pulled her into a small room, unzipped his pants and said, “Why don't we just get this over with?”

All three told The Associated Press that no one did anything significant about their complaints against Chad Dominie for at least two years, until one of the women said he grabbed her by the arms and threatened to sexually assault her in October 2017. That accusation prompted a call to police and a harassment charge against Dominie, an administrative assistant in the the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities .

Dominie has acknowledged engaging in “locker room” behavior — “I tell her to 'shut her whore mouth' and I'm the big villain?” he said — but denied exposing himself or threatening or touching anyone inappropriately. He has been suspended from his job without pay since his arrest, pleaded guilty to a harassment violation — less than a misdemeanor — and paid $120 in court costs. He remains a state employee, pending the outcome of a disciplinary proceeding.

Mary Tromblee allowed her name to be used because she wants her story told. (David Klepper / AP)

“This has to stop,” said Mary Tromblee, the woman who accused Dominie of threatening sexual assault and in the previous nine months complained that he twice lifted her skirt, reached down her blouse to grope her breast and exposed himself by her desk.

“Not one person protected me,” said Tromblee, who took out a restraining order against Dominie and has now filed a federal harassment complaint.

Dominie, 44, acknowledged in an interview with the AP that he engaged in “locker room” behavior that included calling female co-workers “whores,” providing marijuana to supervisors and viewing pornography in the office.

He contended that he was only punished after he threatened to report the improper behavior of supervisors, and that his conduct and language were long tolerated as part of the office “culture.”

“I was never offended by it,” he said. “I'm an old Marine. It was a joke. We were just horseplaying.”

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Dominie, a 21-year veteran of the state agency who made $41,000 a year before his suspension, says the allegations of harassment prompted his wife to divorce him, and he expects to be fired later this year. To make ends meet, he's been working as a youth sports referee.

Two supervisors, one of whom has since retired, declined to comment. But the agency issued a statement defending its handling of the situation.

The AP and Daily News generally do not identify those who say they were sexually assaulted or harassed. Of the three women the AP interviewed about Dominie, it is identifying only Tromblee, a 53-year-old registered nurse, because she said she wanted to tell her story publicly.

The two other women gave accounts that were consistent with the formal complaints Tromblee lodged with the state and with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Tromblee and another woman who spoke about Dominie still work in the office; a third has retired.